The “open” revolution is starting to show some really promising prospects. Among them is Chris Smith’s Transit Appliance – a display platform for transit arrival times based entirely on open data, open software, and open hardware.
Because of these features, the device is really quite cheap ($200), meaning it is feasible for these announcements to be provided by private entities like cafes, restaurants, or bookstores near transit. After all, businesses would love it if customers stayed in their establishment for the maximum amount of time possible. More time spent = more money spent!

Further, as Daily Wireless suggests, even publicly-provided transit announcers could leverage this technology. Image touch screen tablets at your bus-stop – a potential gold mine for advertisers. Besides all this, even if the solution doesn’t take off, it’s encouraging to see the open revolution making significant ruffles in the market.